The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 02, 2008
Filed:
Feb. 22, 2001
Ravi Someshwar, Redwood City, CA (US);
Nick Hartzel, St Paul, MN (US);
Margaret Motamed, Foster City, CA (US);
Ramgopal Vidyanand, Cupertino, CA (US);
Ravi Someshwar, Redwood City, CA (US);
Nick Hartzel, St Paul, MN (US);
Margaret Motamed, Foster City, CA (US);
Ramgopal Vidyanand, Cupertino, CA (US);
Electronics for imaging, Inc., Foster City, CA (US);
Abstract
A method for dynamically managing printers comprises a mechanism for printing from a network of printers that belong to a virtual printer group to meet the user's request for printing. The invention does this by requesting an options and capabilities file from each printer and then generating a virtual printer group, such that when a user wants to print a file, the invention looks for the best suited printer for the user and sends a file to that printer for printing. The invention has the capability to keep track of each printer's printing capabilities dynamically and to communicate to the user about the status of printing and printer location, and of informing a system administrator for manual intervention should the need arise.